Bill Ball

How far did you drive the hood?

IcemanG17

Bill
Hmm....since Rich delivered it....it has "moved" a grand total of about .1 miles....the distance between my old house and new house.....

It does need at least a 6 month test......but I do need to buy a high speed buffer soon & it will be my test hood.....so we'll see how long I can last without a buffer!! (the porter cable in the photos was a loaner)

dr bob

Brian--

Tangent for a moment-- I have a PC buffer. What's the best bonnet option for that? Package/source/prices you've found? Every site I've visited claims to have the new super-whamadyne longest lasting brightest shining highest-priced product. What works for you?

Bill Ball

You need to park the hood under a tree, get it dirty, wash it a few times, etc.

6mil928

I agree a good dose of tree sap and bird crap is in order

JPTL

When it comes to shine, luster and depth, I can't comment on how Rejex compares to others in a non-hostile environment - like no rain & limited long term UV exposure, because I use Blitz One Grand Carnuba (good stuff w/high carnuba content) on my 928.
I do use Rejex on my wife's '07 Suburban, however. With the crappy DC air and the acid rain, the Rejex is slipperier than anything that I've used. A mild carwash/water mix is all that's needed to get a clean, slippery finish - months after a Rejex application.
I'd venture to say that the staying power of Rejex in harsh environments is exceptional. My sense is that it's best used as a sealant over a very well prepped surface, or a new finish.
Eventually, I'll try the 3M Hand Glaze, followed by Rejex on my Shark to see how compatible they are with one another.

Richard S

I think that is what he's been doing. I know it gets left outside in the backyard.

Rich

SharkSkin

How much sun does it get? Sunlight really tears up wax...

IcemanG17

Guys
It gets full sun at least 75% of the day.....its leaning against the old dog house right now..... I'm kinda shocked at how quick the feel test has degraded.....I haven't waxed my 928 since early May & it is FAR slicker than this hood.....like 100% better.....granted it lives in the garage 99% of the time & gets washed almost weekly.....

Dr Bob
I used "CCS" (closed cell structure) 7.5" pads from Lake Country.....but I would buy the 6.5" pads if I were to do it again...the 7.5" pad is a touch too big for the PC...... I have the yellow (cutting pad) orange (strong polish mild cut), white (polsihing) and black (very mild polish, wax application pad).....when using the PC even with optimum compound and the yellow pads set to "6" it really doesn't cut all that much.....I couldn't induce swirls in the single stage paint, even when I tried!

As for products.....I really like optimums entire line...... especially the polishes....they "work" forever and wipe off easy with minimal if any dusting....their waxes are good too...... poli seal is a great 1 step light polish wax....spray wax looks great and is SO easy to use (don't use it on single stage paint though).....& opti seal really rocks (but is struggling in this test for some reason).....I also like rejex alot....but it did dust more than the opti products......I also like the trade secret pure carnuba....mostly since its easy to use and smells great!

dr bob

Thanks, Brian. That's what I was looking for. I'd looked at the Lake Country bonnets but didn't pull the trigger. I have a few bins full of "miracle" products and didn't want to add more without a reliable reference.

Cleaners-polish-waxes: I've been happy with the Meguiars products so far. I do sub the 3M Imperial Hand Glaze for the Meguiars product though. The darker glaze is noticeably better on my black paint.

IcemanG17

Bob
Be careful of "glazes" some of them tend to have a pretty high oil content...which fills scratches in the short term and looks great for a week or so....but offers little real protection.....the oils also make it hard to get a streak free wax on top of the glaze.....many show cars use only glaze...to hide minor flaws.....it only lasts a week..but the show is only a day..perfect for them (like the colored waxes too)...

Also be careful when polishing-compounding....you don't want to remove too much paint....the PC doesn't remove much.....

dr bob

Correct on all points. The car looks best after the 3M glaze, and before wax. There's a lot of forgiveness in the glaze, as a short-term fix.

+10 on the paint thickness concern. PO had the car 'detailed' regularly, and there's a spot on the b-pillar where the buffer got a little too close to the steel. It will be easy to spot and blend someday. Meanwhile I used the PC on the car once to speed up the processes I normally do by hand, And it was great. I used some foam bonnets from Pep Boys and they are OK except for the part where they are hardly durable enough for the service. Not using it for any nore than cleaning things up generally.

FWIW, the PC was purchased to use as a sander on some woodworking projects. Karen's brother (woodworking hobbyist) was visiting from Montana, she had him do a few projects for her, so she hauled him over to Lowes with a credit card and told him to stock my shop. PC came in one of the boxes. It was just luck for me, otherwise I'd still be using the pneumatic 6" RO sander with the hoods stretched over the pad.

IcemanG17

Dr Bob
I was concerned about that paint thickness when I saw your car in May at the show.....granted that is a naturally thin spot.....just be careful everywhere else, since the paint is still quite good! Like you said I do think it could be blended pretty easy to add some paint there one day...

Ron_H

When I bought my car, I noticed some hot spots on the top and edges of other panels. I thought I could nurse them along. I was wrong in the long run. Though I babied those areas, ultimately the burn spots which were almost imperceptible turned to larger crazed flat spots. Then the clear or color coat began to craze more and loosen. Now the car is nicely mottled on the top. The edges of the hood are next because I can detect hazy and milky parts if I look at the right angle.
I think this is all from burning with a buffer. The PO told me he had the car detailed just before I took delivery; he didn't tell me how excited his detailed man must have gotten. Time to start saving my coins for the repaint. Well, 21 years is OK for a paint job, so I'm not too disappointed.

dr bob

Ron--

Fortunately I have single-stage black, so fixes are a bit easier than your two-stage metallic paint. I remember talking to you about the damage at a Devek Days event a couple years ago. Even then the paint cancer was in enough areas to make a whole repaint look like the best option. As you know, you can spend the cost of another car just on paint on one of these cars. Spot painting the black panel is something I can do myself if/when I get the inspiration. I have the paint, the equipment, etc. Just need the time and inspiration. Like you, I use the car as a daily driver. If I decide to take it out of service for a few days for this it means I get to share 'our' 4-Runner. K often forgets the meaning of 'our car' when it's not convenient for her.